Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.12.23
दावोष्णखरवातोऽयं श्वासवद्भाति पश्यत ।
तद्दग्धसत्त्वदुर्गन्धोऽप्यन्तरामिषगन्धवत् ॥ २३ ॥
dāvoṣṇa-khara-vāto ’yaṁ
[daavoshna-khara-vaato ’yam]
śvāsavad bhāti paśyata
[shvaasavad bhaati pashyata]
tad-dagdha-sattva-durgandho
[tad-dagdha-sattva-durgandho]
’py antar-āmiṣa-gandhavat
[’py antar-aamisha-gandhavat]
Word-for-word
dāva - uṣṇa - khara - vātaḥ ayam
—
hot breath coming out exactly like fire
śvāsa - vat bhāti paśyata
—
just see how it resembles his breath
tat - dagdha - sattva
—
of burning corpses
durgandhaḥ
—
the bad smell
api
—
indeed
antaḥ - āmiṣa - gandha - vat
—
is like the fleshy smell coming out from within .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
dāvoṣṇa-khara-vāto ’yaṁ
dāva - uṣṇa - khara - vātaḥ ayam
hot breath coming out exactly like fire
śvāsavad bhāti paśyata
śvāsa - vat bhāti paśyata
just see how it resembles his breath
tat - dagdha - sattva
of burning corpses
tad-dagdha-sattva-durgandho
durgandhaḥ
the bad smell
api
indeed
’py antar-āmiṣa-gandhavat
antaḥ - āmiṣa - gandha - vat
is like the fleshy smell coming out from within .
Important Words
-
dāva-uṣṇa-khara-vātaḥ
—
a hot, harsh wind like a forest fire
Compound: dāva (forest fire) + uṣṇa (hot) + khara (harsh) + vāta (wind). Four-stem compound — Bhāgavatam's poetic density. The image of dāvāgni recurs across Canto 10: chapter 17, chapter 19. Vraja survives every fire because Kṛṣṇa contains it.
-
tat-dagdha-sattva
—
the beings he has burned/eaten
Compound: tat (his) + dagdha (burned) + sattva (creature). The bodies inside him are 'burned beings.' Gauḍīyas note: souls eaten by Aghāsura cease being mere food when Kṛṣṇa enters — chapter 38 confirms even the demon himself attains sārūpya.
-
durgandhaḥ
—
bad smell
Compound: dur (bad) + gandha (smell). The boys observe the foul smell and identify it correctly. In Vraja, even noticing the rotten is part of the rasa — the children are precise observers, not idealists.
The hot fiery wind is the breath coming out of his mouth, which is giving off the bad smell of burning flesh because of all the dead bodies he has eaten.
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
The hot fiery wind is the breath coming out of his mouth, which is giving off the bad smell of burning flesh because of all the dead bodies he has eaten.
Commentary
"The smell of animals burned in the forest fire seems to be like the smell of flesh digesting in a snake’s stomach."
Jīva Gosvāmī
Gauḍīya
Commentary
They speak in astonishment. Look! The hot wind resembles a snake’s breathing.
Related values & verses
Related values
Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Dana (Charity / Generosity)Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness)Yajña (Sacrifice / Spirit of Offering)Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)
Related verses
Personal Guidance
Even the smell of past victims is registered — the demon's history of devouring is visible. Patterns of past harm are part of how a danger should be read, not ignored.
Reflection Questions
- What 'smell of past victims' (broken relationships, abandoned promises) hovers around a person or situation I am minimizing?
- Where am I willfully ignoring a track record that is actively warning me?
Analogy
Imagine children noticing that a cave smells of cooked flesh and remarking calmly, 'must be old kills.' Their composure is not bravado — it is the natural fearlessness of those who have never been alone. The hot wind of Aghāsura's breath is the smell of every soul he has eaten; the boys walk through it as through a kitchen fire that cannot burn them.
My note
Source: vedabase.io